ThreeReasonsWhy (15 page)
Authors: Mari Carr
Eventually her cries became quieter, accompanied by the same
words, spoken over and over. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.
I’m so sorry.”
He moved away, gripped her upper arms tightly while he
waited for her to look at him. “Don’t ever apologize to me again. Not for
this.”
“But—”
“But nothing. You’ve done nothing wrong.”
“I know what you want, what you’ve always wanted. A family.
I can’t give that to you.”
He smiled sadly. “Of course you can. There are a million
kids in this world who need parents. We’ll adopt all of them.”
She laughed, the sound broken by a brief cry. Her emotions
were so raw, so fresh. He knew it would take her a long time to pull herself
back together. “It’s not the same.”
“It is to me.”
“Wes—”
“I want you to be the mother of my children. Where the
babies come from doesn’t matter to me. Hell, we can give Brad and Angelina a
run for their money. Adopt a baby from every country in the world. Set up our
own little United Nations.”
Her laughter this time was real. “I couldn’t ask you to give
up so much.”
“You aren’t asking me to give up anything, Jill. You’re
offering me a lifetime of happiness and love. I love you. I wanna marry you and
spend the rest of my life with you. We have lots of options, lots of ways to
figure out the baby part.”
She stared at him for a long time, studying his face,
searching for a trace of insincerity, a chink in his armor.
He grinned when her face cleared. “Satisfied?”
She blinked quickly, dashing away a few stray tears. “You
aren’t lying.”
He was happy her words weren’t a question. “No. I’ll never
lie to you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you right away.”
He shrugged. He knew her. They’d been friends for years.
Jill was fiercely independent and proud. She was a woman who took charge, and
he could only imagine how difficult it was for her to know that in this one
instance, she couldn’t control her destiny. Admitting to something she viewed
as a flaw—regardless that it wasn’t her fault—would be extremely hard for her.
“You told me. That’s all that matters.”
“It is?”
He smiled and nodded. “However, you still owe me a few
hours’ pay.”
She narrowed her eyes and he savored the return of her true
spirit. “No way. We’ve spent hours and hours together these past few days. I
figure I’ve got myself quite a bit of credit built up. You know, speaking of
which, there’s a leaky faucet down in the kitchen—”
“Pixie.”
“Yeah?”
“Get undressed.”
Wes’ smoldering gaze nearly turned her to ashes, and she was
torn between crying again and laughing until her sides burst with the sheer joy
of this moment.
He knew the truth. He still wanted her.
“Wes,” she started. She didn’t have time to say more when he
took her in his arms. His lips landed on hers and he kissed her as if they’d
been apart for years rather than a day.
When he finally released her, she found the words she’d been
desperate to say.
“I love you,” she said, savoring the taste, the power, the
veracity of them.
He pulled her toward him and kissed her softly. “Tell me
again why we can’t be together.”
“What?” she asked.
“Your three reasons, Jill.”
She considered her foolish words to him the day he’d
cornered her in the diner storeroom. “Wes—”
“Tell me,” he insisted.
“We fight too much.”
He nodded. “I’ll admit that neither one of us is lacking in
the temper department.”
“Or the stubborn department,” she added.
“I can’t promise we won’t ever fight, but I can assure you
that I’ll always want to make up.”
She grinned. “I like the way you make up.” She wrapped her
arms around his neck as he engulfed her in a big bear hug. She’d never felt
more cherished.
He placed a light kiss on the top of her head, his words
muffled by her hair. “Tell me the second reason.”
“I’m not sure I can say it again with a straight face,” she
teased as she turned her face toward his neck, planting soft kisses on his
chin.
“Ah, yes, the great
I’m not attracted to you
lie.”
She bit his shoulder lightly. “Guess you set me straight on
that.”
“And the third reason why we shouldn’t be together,” he
started, but before he could say the words, she pulled away from him.
“It doesn’t exist anymore. There’s no reason why we
shouldn’t be together. I want to marry you, Wes. I want it more than I’ve ever
wanted anything in my life.”
He grasped her hands in his. “I love you.”
She sniffled as tears battled with the laughter bubbling
inside her. “Why do you have so many clothes on?”
“I was going to ask you the same question,” he said,
reaching for the hem of her skirt. “A skirt. Thank God for your love of skirts.
Easy access.” He pulled the flimsy material above her waist, and Jill giggled.
“Lie down,” he said, gently pushing her to her back. She
grinned at the familiar sensation of the carpet against her skin as he hastily
pulled her panties off. He unzipped his pants and shoved them to his knees
before moving above her.
“So impatient,” she teased as he pushed his cock inside her.
He didn’t respond until he was fully seated and she heard him sigh, a sound of
complete and utter relief.
“Better?” she asked with a giggle.
He closed his eyes as he bent down to nuzzle her neck with
his lips.
She ran her hands along his back, wishing he’d taken the
time to remove his shirt. She wanted to touch his skin.
“I don’t want a long engagement, Jill. I want my ring on
your finger as soon as possible.” He pulled out as he spoke and pushed back in
slowly, teasing her with his too-soft motions
She nodded, breathless. “That sounds doable.”
“And you’re going to have to take some time off from the
diner. I’m planning on a long honeymoon.”
Her laughter ended on a groan, and he moved inside her
harder, quicker. “I can do a long honeymoon.”
“Good. We’re gonna have to live in this apartment for a
while, just until we find a place of our own.”
She fought to catch her breath as he pounded inside her once
more, and she decided to give him a bit of his own medicine. He was seducing
her with his words, his future plans, as much as his actions.
“We’ll grow old together.” She locked her legs tightly
around his waist, holding him in place until he raised his gaze to her face.
“But never too old for this.” He leaned up on his forearms,
kissing her deeply. His lips expressed the emotions she’d spent a lifetime
longing for.
“I love you, pixie. Now what do you say I give you one good
reason why we
should
be together?”
He pushed to his hands, and with his kiss, his body, his
softly whispered words, he drove his point home…gloriously.
Epilogue
Jill adjusted her white veil and tried to decide if she felt
silly or beautiful. She’d never pictured herself as a white-wedding kind of
girl. Hell, she’d never pictured herself getting married period. She let her
fingers run over her silk dress and studied her image in the mirror once more.
She imagined Wes’ face when he saw her at the end of the aisle, and smiled.
“Hubba-hubba,” Kate said, stepping behind her, her sister’s
bridal image reflected as well.
“Ha ha. I feel like a fool. White suits you better than me
with that mass of reddish hair. This damn blonde mop on my head just makes me
look washed out.”
“You’re fishing for compliments and I’m not biting.”
Jill rolled her eyes. “You know, it’s not too late to run,”
she joked.
Kate grinned while shaking her finger at her older sister.
“You wouldn’t make it twenty feet down that driveway before Wes caught up to
you and dragged you back.”
“I wasn’t proposing we flee on foot. That revved-up Harley
Rick has been working on looks pretty damn fast. I bet we could make it to the
garage easily enough.”
Kate shook her head. “Oh no. You were the one who suggested
the double wedding at the farmhouse, Jilly. If I’d known you were plotting an
escape, I’d have made sure Rick locked the garage. If I’m going through with
this, you are too. You aren’t leaving me alone to take the plunge.”
“Well, since you put it that way. I’d hate for you to think
I ditched you at the altar. I’ll go through with this for you.”
Kate wrapped her arm around Jill’s shoulder, turning her so
they could look at themselves in the mirror. “You’re doing this for you, for
Wes. You’re doing this because he makes you happy and because the two of you
were made for each other. Besides, it would be a terrible shame to waste this.”
Kate gestured at their reflection. “You’re beautiful.”
Jill’s breath caught. Her sister’s words were true. She
smiled at the image of the two of them in their wedding dresses. “Shit,
beautiful nothing. We both look hot.”
A soft knock at the door followed by Cheryl’s voice
interrupted them. “It’s time, girls. Get your butts downstairs. Two more
minutes and I won’t be able to hold those boys back.”
Jill took a deep breath. “Well, ready or not. The firing
squad awaits.”
“Hush,” Kate said. “Stop joking around and let me be serious
for a minute.”
“Okay.”
“I love you, Jilly. I can’t imagine what my life would have
been like without you. If it weren’t for you, I never would have met Rick. I
owe you so much.”
“Stop, Angel May, or you’re gonna have me crying before I
get downstairs. Cheryl will kick my ass if I mess up the makeup she put on me.”
She hugged her baby sister, thrilled to be sharing the most special day of her
life with her best friend. “I love you too, Katie. More than I can ever say.”
“Ready?” Kate asked, opening the door that led to the
hallway and to their bright futures.
“I am
so
ready,” Jill said, grabbing her sister’s
hand and rushing her to the altar, the two of them laughing the whole way.
The End
About the Author
Some people fall apart on their 30th birthday, others on
their 40th. For Mari Carr, 34 was the year that took her down. After she spent
the day crying and saying, “I haven’t done anything I thought I would,” her
husband finally asked what was left undone. Her answer was simple—she hadn’t
written a book or decorated her house. “So do it,” he said.
Five years later, the house is sparkling with fresh paint
and new furniture and her computer is jammed full of stories—novels, novellas,
short stories and dead-ends. The lesson: It’s never too late to achieve a goal
or two!
High school librarian and English teacher by day and mother
of two busy teenagers, Mari Carr finds time for writing by squeezing it into
the hours between 3 a.m. and daybreak when her family is asleep and the house
is quiet.
With the publication of her first book, her latest
goal—publishing before 40—has been achieved with a couple of years to spare.
Phew!
Mari welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email address on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.
Tell Us What You Think
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Also by
Mari Carr
Cougar
Challenge: Assume the Positions
Wild
Irish 3: Waiting for Wednesday
Wild Irish
5: Friday I’m in Love
Wild
Irish 6: Saturday Night Special
Print books by Mari Carr
Sugar
and Spice, Everything Nice
Tease the
Cougar
anthology
Discover for yourself why readers can’t get enough of the
multiple award-winning publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or
paperbacks, be sure to visit EC on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic
reading experience that will leave you breathless.